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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. court — for sport
  3. current — electric
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. court — of law
  7. key — in music
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. current — of water
  10. craft — boats
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. cold — not warm
  13. key — the most important part
  14. stock — goods
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. stock — shares
  17. cold — an illness
  18. court — of a king
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — a skill
  21. land — a country
  22. current — happening now
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. key — for a lock

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com